


Unlock My Heart

by syniaie



Category: Final Fantasy XII
Genre: Dreaming, Fluff, Gen, Implied One Night Stands, Introspection, Riddles, Romantic Soulmates Au, Trial by Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-03-30 19:56:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19034560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/syniaie/pseuds/syniaie
Summary: Basch has a strange dream.





	Unlock My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place after the main story of FFXII.
> 
> Heavily inspired fic of one of my favorite rare otps. I might make this a series if it gets popular enough. Comments are very welcome, see the end notes for an explanation.

It was dark.

Basch fon Ronsenberg could feel his body exist but it was impossible to prove it with sight. The darkness swirled oppressively around his upper body, caging it in place while his legs dangled free. 

This was... Odd. 

He could feel solid ground underneath his feet. Cautiously, he stepped forwards, stretching out his legs to feel for more solid ground. Thankfully, the area around him seemed incredibly stable. 

He shuffled forward quietly, still ever vigilant for any signs of danger. His eyes were open, looking, but he couldn't see a thing. His hands felt like stone, his arms like steel, his torso like concrete. He paused every few steps to gather his thoughts - a tiny smile crossing his covered face when he painted a picture in his mind of what he looked like. Oddly enough, there was a soft snicker from far away as if someone was viewing his thoughts, but he paid it no mind out of some newfound instinct.

There was a click when he stepped a little farther forward, and suddenly his bindings vanished. Basch's hand shot to the hip where his sheathed sword was kept to find nothing.

Warily, he looked around. Tall, intricate golden gates stood proud between carefully built brick walls that spanned either way out into eternity. The blackness covered up every inch that wasn't taken up by an object, but he did not feel threatened. Instead, it was welcoming, beckoning him towards the golden gates. He squinted carefully when he saw a tall, slender figure standing by said gates with a long spear in hand. Seeing the familiar face of the viera made him relax his stance and instead hurry over.

"Fran!" He called, waving to her. She gave no response, merely looking at him with an unreadable expression.

"Warrior, what is this place? What keeps you here? You seem to know much better than I."

"...Captain, you have entered the mind of another. Tread lightly."

Basch glanced around. "This place... This belongs to someone else? Who? Where might I find a way out?"

She ignores his words. "You have been given a valuable chance. Many have been welcomed into his gates only to fall at the doorstep or quickly fail what awaits inside. Hurt Balthier and my sword will be the last thing you remember."

It takes him but a moment to process Fran's words. "this place belongs to Balthier?"

She nods. "To find the other half of his heart."

"To find...? But I thought you two were-"

She cuts him off quickly. "I am merely his closest companion, nothing more. Our friendship spans many years and is developed from unlikely connection, but we both agree and have stated that we should not enter a romantic relationship together. I am not right for him, not he for me. He and I do not wish to become more than what we have - this is what we have chosen."

Basch nods. "I understand the depth of companionship. My apologies."

"No offense has been taken, Captain. Go forward, and undertake the quest before you."

His mind is fuzzy as he watches Fran step aside, the intricate golden gates slowly and dramatically opening to let him in. He notes that he finds himself unresponsive or unsurprised to some things, but it doesn't seem to bother him.

Suddenly, he is somewhere else. It is black as night, just as the area with the gates, but now standing before him is a pole that rises into the heavens. It is separated by color into three sections: the bottom red, the middle blue, and the top green.

Before Basch can ponder the meaning of such imagery, from the deepest black comes the man in question, using the pole to gently twirl down towards him. As per usual, he is wearing his golden laced vest with the light undershirt and tight leather pants, but it feels somewhat different - almost as if he is glowing. He marvels quietly at the beauty presented to him before he finds himself moving closer instinctively, arms stretching out to catch the slowly descending sky pirate as he twirls down the pole and into his arms.

"Ah. You made it."

Balthier sounds pleased, arms slinging around his neck as he shifts from a bridal hold into a position where they are face to face. Basch's cheeks color slightly as he feels his grip shifted to hold his firm buttocks, accentuated by the skin tight leather pants the pirate made his own. 

"I was waiting for you to come. Fortunately, you have yet to leave me hanging when it comes to expectations."

"Really, now? From the way you talk about me, I expected to be treated like a bumbling brute."

Balthier laughs, a beautiful sound that pulls at Basch's heartstrings. "My, my, somebody's feeling good today."

"Why am I here?"

"For the test, obviously. I have only one. Look around."

Basch glances away from the handsome face so close to his own. The scenery has changed again - they're on a beach, waves crashing into the shore, with the sun setting magnificently behind the blue waters. Fire scorches his back, and when he looks behind him, he sees a raging bonfire that covers the rest of the beach. A black substance almost like tar trickles out of the edges of the flames and oozes around his feet. Instinctively, he starts walking towards the waves, the sky pirate in his arms making no move to stop him or be freed from his grasp. The waves splash them as he walks deeper into the salty water, neither of the two saying anything for long moments until Basch is up to his waist in the sea and both of their hair is wet and limp from the waves.

"Your task is simple," Balthier hums softly. "Tell me: what is this place, and why is it so?"

Basch does not respond, instead looking out to the beach with its burning sands and toxic muck. "I know this place. I know parts of it."

He feels the beautiful man in his arms kiss his cheek. "Already on the right path - you've gotten farther than most."

Basch is quiet, looking out into the scenery for several minutes. Neither of the two men say a word as the waves foam and froth and the fire crackles with heat. The sun moves no lower in the sky, the warm light continuing to bounce off of the shimmering water without regard for the passage of time. The long moments are not uncomfortable but instead welcomed, the waves softly punctuating every thought.

"I understand now," Basch says, finally. "I know this place."

"Oh?"

"This is the order of all things. The fires of war burn viciously and take countless lives until the tides of fate rise to put it out. This... element of treachery is what relights the fire, sending mankind back into destruction of its own making. The cycle goes on - no one piece can be the winner, for the order will continue until the end of time when the peoples finally go extinct."

Balthier opens his mouth to say something, but Basch turns to face him. "You are all three. Your eyes tell the story of the fire's wake and where it remains. Your actions strive for peace, to become the tides that save the world from burning. Your personality is that of a sly fox, ready to decieve to get his way and to break free of any prison. It is you, and how you understand the world."

Balthier is quiet. Long moments pass, long enough that Basch begins to worry if he answered wrong. The anxiety seething under his skin pushes him to speak up.

"Balthier?"

His lips are caught by a pair so soft it almost makes him melt. The sunlight is replaced with the gentle glow of the moon, and he can feel the salt almost evaporate from his skin and the water surrounding him. His eyelids flutter shut as he adjusts his grip to bring the sky pirate closer, one of the other's hands tangled in the captain's hair as their kiss deepens quickly. His mind fogs over, only dimly aware of the water rising up, past his elbows, past his shoulders, past his chin. The water is icy, but Balthier, his Balthier, is so warm against his body that he pays the chill no mind. All he can focus on are the soft lips against his and the slender form in his arms as the water swallows them whole.

\----

Basch sits up in bed, breathing heavily. Quickly, he glances around his quarters and sighs when there is nothing to be found. He slumps forwards and runs a hand through his hair.

"I wonder what that was about."

**Author's Note:**

> The idea behind this is that people have places in the Mist that are of their subconscious creation that tests possible romantic partners in order to see who is the best possible fit for them, or their 'soulmate'. If the connection is strong enough, as pictured with Fran and Balthier, other subconsciouses can be allowed to interact with their areas as protectors to symbolize how strong their bond is. The worlds vanish as soon as someone makes it past the tests (usually both must make it through each other's, as was done in this case, although only seen from one perspective).
> 
> I might write Balthier doing Basch's trial next if this gets enough popularity to motivate me. We'll see.


End file.
